Saturday, 7 July 2012

Bronglais Hospital

Society should be aiming for reducing the need to travel long distances. This is even more important when people are ill - they should be able to be treated as close to where they live as possible. Unfortunately Hywel Dda Health Board have been considering downgrading Bronglais Hospital and forcing patients to travel to hospitals elsewhere for treatment.

Take a look at the map above, courtesy of the excellent Save Bronglais group. It should be clear which hospital covers the widest area. However, that is the one which is due to be downgraded, removing services! Already some specialist services have been cut, forcing patients to travel as far away as Swansea for treatment (see Cambrian News 22nd March 2012 - Hywel Dda Health Board forced a woman to travel from Aberystwyth to Swansea for a check for oral cancer which took three minutes once she got there). Latest news is that the Afallon Ward has been shut and patients have to travel up to 50 miles to Carmarthen. No wonder there are protests - unfortunately the Hywel Dda Health Board have refused to turn up to public meetings on these issues. Of course, perhaps there is a vital need to save money which means local services have to go? After all, unless money is saved from providing healthcare, how can the Hywel Dda Health Board afford to pay their executives self-voted salaries of over £170,000, or pay their friends £1,000 a day to do research?